How and Why you should Clean your Makeup Brushes

Do you clean your makeup brushes? If not don't worry, there's no judgement here. I didn't either until I knew better, and believe me, you will absolutely, 100% clean your brushes after reading this post!

There are many reasons you should regularly clean your makeup brushes and sponges.

The main reason being hygiene - over time our brushes can become clogged with a build up of product, foundation, shadows etc. They can accumulate dust too depending on how you store them. Also bacteria, oil/sebum, dead skin cells. UGH GROSS right?! I imagine your face is screwed up in disgust right about now?! Worry not my lovelies, I'm going to share my 2 absolute favourite brush cleaners with you and how easy it is to clean your own brushes.

Unwashed brushes can cause havoc to your skin, especially broken skin/acne prone skin. It can also be one of the reasons your makeup doesn't apply as well as it used to, resulting in patchy/cakey, unblended makeup. If you're finding that this is happening with your makeup application, it could just be that your brushes need a good clean!

So, how and what do we use to clean our makeup brushes?

I use 2 brilliant products for cleaning & sanitising my brushes and sponges.

For a deep clean, I use a Brush Soap & for spot cleaning (a quick sanitising clean) I use a Sanitising Spray.

Deep Cleaning

I deep clean my personal brushes at least once a week & deep clean all brushes in my professional kit after each client. The brush soap I prefer for this is the Jewel Cosmetics Max Strength Brush Cleaner. This product was created by Scottish Bridal Makeup Artist, Julia Stronach. As you can imagine Julia has a strict hygiene policy and with that in mind, this was her first product she wanted to create.

This Max Strength soap is amazing for makeup brushes & sponges. It has a beautiful 'spa fresh scent' which is very faint and doesn't linger on brushes. It removes the toughest of stains, easily and effectively breaks down all product build up in the brush hair and leaves your brushes looking & feeling like new.

Inside the soap container there is a handy little pink pad that you can use to swirl your brushes on to help get into the brush hair and remove product.

How I use the brush soap

I simply wet the brush hairs under the tap, taking care to hold the brush downward so no water gets inside the ferrule (the metal part connecting the hairs & handle) as this can affect the glue that holds the brush together and cause it to breakdown, and therefore the hairs will shed & fall out.

Once its wet I swirl it round on the soap a few times, then swirl it round on the pink pad and once a good foam builds up, you'll see the product remove. I then rinse it under the tap again, ensuring all product & soap is removed, squeeze the excess water off gently and lay on a flat surface to dry. I always make sure the hairs are out over the edge of the surface so that air can circulate around the whole brush evenly. I usually wash my brushes in the evening so they can dry over night. I would recommend deep cleaning your brushes at least once a week depending on how often you use them.

Spot Cleaning with ISOCLEAN

What is Spot Cleaning? Spot Cleaning is a great way to clean & sanitise your brushes quickly. I use Isoclean to do this. If I need a particular brush in between clients I'll use Isoclean. I spray it onto the brush hairs, swirl it gently on a clean towel and literally, in seconds the brush is clean & sanitised and free of any product. After a minute or two it's completely dry & ready to use again. I also like to spray Isoclean over the handles of my brushes after a deep clean to ensure the whole brush is clean and sanitised. I carry this in my personal & professional makeup kit.

ISOCLEAN are experts in cosmetic hygiene. It is designed and produced in the UK. It contains Aloe Vera to help maintain the condition of brushes, it's also cruelty free and vegan. This amazing brush cleaner is stocked in Boots, LookFantastic & other online retailers. It's also widely used in beauty colleges across the UK. It's available in a spray bottle or a pouring bottle with a dipping tray and can be repurchased in Eco refill pouches. I personally prefer the spray bottle. Isoclean also have a large range of hygiene products & tools that are definitely worth checking out.

I would love to know if you try either of these products and what you think of them. Please let me know in the comments or send a message to me here www.beautybyantoinetteblog@gmail.com or on my Instagram @beauty.by.antoinette